Machine for cementing tennis shoe tops



Oct. 17, 1950 PHILLIPS 2,525,939

MACHINE FOR CEMENTING TENNIS SHOE TOPS Filed May 51, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q a Q w Invenior f Q-Q Q Q Q Harry Phillips Oct. 17, 1950 H. PHILLIPS 2,525,939

momma FOR CEMENTING TENNIS SHOETOPS Filed May 31, 1947 s Sheets-Sheet 2 17112971107" Har ry Phiups Oct. 17, 1950 H. PHILLIPS MACHINE FOR GEMENTING mums SHOE TOPS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 51, 1947 Inuenior Hcz'rry Phillips yhis tops.

Patented Oct. 17, 1950 MACHINE Fon oEMENtr Ne Tennis SHOE 'rorsx fiarry l-hillips, Beverly, Mass, assignor to lilni-te d Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington; N.'.I a corporation of New Jersey 1 Application May 31 1947, Serial No. 751;50l

I This invention relates to a machine for applying a band of adhesive "to the lasting margins of thefuppers of tennis shoes. Such shoes are frequently called sneakers and their uppers are 3 Claims. (01. 9l--12) usually called tops. As herein illustrated, the

machine is designed to employ an adhesive having the fiuidity of latex.

In shoes of the tennis type which commonly have rubber soles combined with canvas tops it is desired to apply a band of cement along the lasting margin at the bottom of the uppers or The cement is used; for lasting the upper over the insole and machines for this purpose must meet a peculiar set of conditions found in this type of work. For example; where the Vamps or the tips are joined to the quarters there is usually a seam on each side of the shoe forming a distinct shoulder andthe latexmust be applied not only to the parts of the work leading up to and'following the shoulder but also in the corner at the bottom of the shoulder so that there may be no breakin the band. Furthermore, such shoes are provided with a canvas pocket, stitched to theinner side of the top near the heel end, which isireferred toas a junior. This isso stitched to the fabric of the top that its lower edge-is spaced from the edge of the top a short distance which is less than the width of the band of cementwhich it isdeired to apply. A machine for this purpose must, therefore, be designed to apply cement along two dififerent levels at this portion. of the shoe. Obviously too there are shoulderswhich are met as the machine meets and leaves the junior. i 7 Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an improved cementing machine for this type of work-which willfeed the work smoothly and will apply a uniform band of cement throughout the wholeperiphery.

To this end a feature ofthe invention resides inv the provision of a substantially unyielding,

driven, work-supporting roll combined with a flexible nozzle and a readily yieldable upper feed roll. As illustrated the nozzle is of the multifinger or articulated type which is well suited to the application of a band of cement on parts at different levels and in which the individual fingers are pivoted about an axis which lies to therear of their point of contactwith the work so that they swing forwardly and upwardlyin A special encountering changes in thickness. mounting is provided for the upper feed roll which is in the form of a disk disposed to engage the work inside the band of cement. mounting includes a swinging supportpermitting This 7 bodily movement of the axis of thefeed mu, about a pivot for the support which is to the rear ofthe point of contact between the roll and the work so that the latter swings forwardly and upwardly, as does the nozzle, and the drive.

mechanism for the roll issuch that a gear train isprovided in which there is no interference withythe swinging movement of the feed roll and in which a driving connectionis continually maintained.

These and other features of the invention will best be understood from a consideration offthey" following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front, elevation with a portion of the casing removed;

Fig. 2 is an end elevationof the working ele merits of the machine with parts in section;

Fig. 3 is an angular view of the feednecha nism showing especially the upwardly yieldable mounting for the upper feed rollj Fig. 4 is a view of a fragment of a piece of a tennis shoe top illustrating a band of cement applied to a portion of a junior; and i Fig. dis a rear elevation showing the relationy of the nozzle tips to the feed mechanism. In one typical example, a band of cementis to be applied to the inner lower marginalportion of a top T of a tennis shoe and this topis turned insideout before it is presented to the machine to deposita band B of cement along one margin (see Fig. 4). At the heel end of the shoe a counter-like piece or junior J is secured to the inside of the top '1 by stitching and commonly the seam betweenthem is covered with a piece of tape it. The cement band overlaps'this'junior.

As it is presented to the machine, the work is supported upon a lower feed roll In mounted at theend of ashaft l2 and held against a shoulder l4 thereon by a retaining screw IS. The work is guidedby engagement with an edge gage i8 to be later described and is gripped against the lower roll by a disk-like upper feed roll 20 car-- ried at the end of a shaft 22 which is journaled in a tiltable carrier block 24 mounted upona rod'" 26.. This rodextends through a downwardly pro jecting portion 28 of a bracket 30 (Fig. 1). This bracket 30, for simplicity in setting up the machine, isintegral with a rod 32 (Fig. 5) which passes through a boss 34 formed upon the casing or frame 36 of the machine and the rod-is held in the desired position by a clamp screw 3:8 bearing upon a flattened portion of the rod.

A similar boss 40 opposite the boss 34 is se-= cured to the inner side of the frame 36 and We 3 gether they provide a bearing for a drive shaft 42, the inner end of which passes through the other side of the frame and has a large gear 44 (Fig. 1) meshing with a pinion 46 on a power driven shaft 48.

The drive for the upper feed roll includes a pinion 50 on the outer end of the shaft 42 and meshing with one portion of an elongated pinion 52 (Fig. 3) which is free to rotate on the rod 26 carried by the bracket portion 28. This elon-' gated pinion 52 is in mesh also with a pinion 54 which is secured to the inner end of the shaft 22 carrying the upper feed roll 2% and inasmuch as the center of tilting of the feed roll block 24 is the same as the axis of the elongated pinion 52 there is no hindrance to the tilting movement of that block about its axis and the drive is never interrupted regardless of the position of the upper feed roll.

It will be noted that the bracket 30 is extended outward to provide an abutment 55 between which and the block 24 there is provided a coil spring 58 (Fig. 2) urging the block 24 and hence the upper feed roll 20 downwardly against the work. The limit of downward movement of the feed roll is determined by a stop screw 80 threaded in the block 24 at the rear side of the rod 26 and positioned to engage the underside of the abutment 56. The position of the shaft 22 axially in the block 24 (Figs. 3 and 5) is determined b an enlargement 82 which abuts the outer end of the block and by the engagement of the hub of the pinion 54 with the other end of this block after that pinion has been pinned to the shaft 22.

The shaft I2 for the lower feed roll I0 is journaled in a tiltable carrier 64 (Fig. l), the inner end of which is forked to provide arms 66 which are pivotedin the front and rear sides of the casing 36 (see Fig. 2) on pins 58 and H1. The shaft I2 is driven b gears 12 and I4 connecting it to the drive shaft 42. This tilting of the carrier 64 allows the lower feed roll to drop between periods of use to facilitate the presentation of a piece of work and, after the work has been brought into engagement with the gage IS, the carrier and the lower roll Id are raised by means of a lever I6 (Fig. 1) pivoted on the frame on a pin I1. One end of said lever has a forwardly extending arm I8 (Fig. 2) underlying the carrier 64, and the other end has a rearwardly extending portion 80 surrounding a treadle rod 82 on which there is aspring 84 interposed between a collar 86 pinned to the rod and a washer which lies on the arm Bil. This tilting movement of the car,- rier 54 upwardly is limited by a stop screw 28 engaging a shoulder 90 on the frame 36 and when the treadle rod is fully depressed the strength of the spring 84 is such that the lower feed roll I!) is rigidly held in position in so far as any downward pressure of thework is concerned. In other words the spring 84- is several times as effective at the work gripping point as is the spring 58 which urges the upper feed roll 23 downwardly.

The gage I8 is mounted on the carrier 54 by an arm 92 fitting in a groove 9:3 and adjustably held in position close to the inner end of the feed Wheel IE3 by screws 95. The gage has a curved portion 91 which slightly overlaps the roll It to facilitate feeding the work to the operating point. 'l"he carrier 56 also serves as a support for a rod 96 carrying a scraper 93 which may be tilted to be brought into close engagement with the lower roll It and then held in adjusted Position by tightening a set screw I00. The scraper is designed to remove any cement which has accidentally been transferred to the lower roll as for instance when the toe portion of the work piece is scalloped as it sometimes is.

The application of cement to the upper side of a piece of work is effected by means of a multifinger articulated nozzle I02 comprised of a plurality of individual fingers I03 (Fig. 5), pivoted on a pin I84 which traverses the fingers, and is supported in a forked block I06. This nozzle is constructed as illustrated in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,177,666 patented October 31, 1939, upon the application of W. L. MacKenzie et al. The forked block is secured by screws to a plate I08 having a dovetail bar I59 (Fig. 1) slidably engaging a correspondingly shaped notch in a bracket III] in which it is adjustably held in position by a set screw H2 (Fig. 2). The bracket IIE! has an inwardly extending rod II4 which is received in a cylindrical holder Ilfi attached by screws IIS to the outer side of the frame 35 and this holder is provided with a split clamp I) (Fig. 1) arranged to grip the rod when compressed by a clamp screw This provides for setting'up adjustment so that tie lower work-engaging tips of the nozzle fingers may be positioned substantially above the top of the supporting roll It. Individual wire springs I24 (Fig. 2) are provided for the successive fingers and the cement is delivered to passages at the lower ends of these fingers through small tubes I26. As in the patented construction these tubes communicate with a chamber in a removable plate I28, the chamber communicating with a passage I leading to a passage I32 in a diaphragm valve I33 which enables the suppl of cement to be turned off and on at will.

The diaphragm valve I33, illustrated best in Figs. 1 and 2, comprises a cup-like casing I35 at the center of which there is formed a valve seat I 34 and to which cement is supplied through a pipe I36 joined by a flexible hose I35 to a supply container not herein shown but which may be of the type shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,110,157, granted March 8, 1938, upon the application of B. Jorgensen. From this receptacle the latex is forced out by compressed air which may be supplied by a compressor I40 (Fig. 1) having a gear connection I42 to the drive shaft 42. Cooperating with the relatively sharp edge of the valve seat I34 is a spring pressed conical pin I 44 forming part of a mechanism which is supported in a cap I46 having a bayonet joint connection I48 with the cup portion I35'of the valve I33. A thumb screw I5!) is provided to prevent accidental disconnection of the two parts of the valve. In the cap I46 there is a diaphragm I52 held in position by a ring I54 which is recessed to receive a packing to enable a tight connection between the two parts of the' valve. The stem of the conical valve point I44 is extended upwardly through the cap I46 and provided with a collar I56 beneath which there vis located the forked arm I58 of a two arm lever I which is pivoted in a-bracket supported by a ring I6I held on a neck of the cap I46. The other arm I62 of this lever I66 extends downwardly for engagement by a roller I64 in the end of an operating lever I66 which is mounted on a cross rod I68 journaled in the frame and having an arm I1 3 connected to' the treadle rod 82 so that it may be turned when the treadle is depressed.

In the operation of the machin the operator will take a piece of work such as that which is illustrated in Fig, 4 and bring its edge into contact with the gage [8. He will then depress the treadle rod 82 to raise the lower feed roll H1 and the work and to open the valve I33. As has been noted, the lower feed roll is held rigidly in position and any yielding required by changes in the thickness of the work is taken up in the upward and forward swinging movement of both the upper feed roll 20 and the fingers of the nozzle I02. The direction of rotation of the feed rolls is indicated by arrows in Fig. 3 and is such that any shoulders or other changes in thickness which encounter the upper feed roll tend to push that feed roll upwardly and forwardly in the direction of movement of the work and thus will offer a minimum hindrance to the easy and even feeding of the work through the machine. This swinging movement of the upper feed r011 20 will be against the tension of the spring 58 and when the work is removed from the machine the extent of downward movement of that feed roll is limited by the stop screw 50 in the bearing block 24. Similarly the fingers of the nozzle H32 will be swung forwardly and upwardly about their pivot pin HM. Some of these fingers will ride along the margin of the top which lies below the junior J while the remaining fingers will be deflected upwardly so that the delivery ends thereof ride up over the junior. This enables the easy feeding of the work through the machine without interference by the nozzle and insures the application of a uniform band B of cement thereto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a cementing machine, coacting feed rolls gripping opposite faces of a piece of work, driving gears connected to at least one of said rolls to feed the work forwardly in a predetermined direction, a carrier block in which one of said rolls is journaled, a support in which said block is movably mounted restricting bodily yielding movement of the feed roll to directions having components forwardly with the work and toward and away from the work, and a flexible nozzle for applying a uniform band of cement to the upper surface of the work along its margin.

2. In a machine for applying a band of cement to a piece of sheet material movable forwardly in a substantially horizontal plane, work-gripping feed rolls disposed on axes substantially parallel to one another and to the plane of the sheet material gripped between them, a driving mechanism for rotating at least one of said rolls to feed the work, a journal block for one roll tiltable about an axis rearward of the axis of the roll and farther away from the level of the work than is the axis of the roll, and a flexible nozzle having pivoted delivery members inclined downwardly and forwardly, the delivery ends of which rest upon the work adjacent to the tiltable feed roll.

3. In a machine for applying a band of cement to a shoe part movable forwardly in a substantially horizontal plane, an upper feed roll disk, a nozzle for delivering a band of cement to the work beside said disk, said nozzle comprising pivoted delivery members inclined downwardly and forwardly toward the work, a work-supporting feed roll, treadle means for raising said latter feed roll to grip the work against the upper feed roll disk, and a yieldable carrier block in which said upper feed roll disk is journaled, said carrier block being pivoted about an axis parallel to the axis of said feed roll disk, said pivot axis lying to the rear of and above the axis of the feed roll disk, a screw cooperating with said carrier block for determining the lowermost position of said disk, and a spring acting upon the carrier block to urge the feed roll disk toward the work.

HARRY PHILLIPS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS MacKenzie July 25, 19% 

